Saturday, July 7, 2012

I recently finished reading “Bonhoeffer” by Eric Metaxas. The book, a nearly 600-page biography of German pastor and influential theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was simply life-changing. Throughout his page-turning treatise, Metaxas brilliantly illustrates how Bonhoeffer lived and died by Christ’s admonition, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

Although Bonhoeffer penned a number of widely read books on theology and Christian apologetics, he is chiefly remembered for his key role in one of several German conspiracies to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime. For this he was captured and hanged just weeks before the end of World War II.

It seems natural at this point to trek into “must read” book review territory; however, I will resist that temptation. Although “Bonhoeffer” kicked open the door to any number of theological, philosophical and political themes, it struck another cord with me entirely.

As I read of Bonhoeffer’s efforts to thwart the genocidal slaughter of millions of Jews, disabled people and other “enemies of the State,” I could not help but recognize the parallels between the vast holocaust carried out in Nazi Germany just decades ago and the modern-day holocaust ongoing within our own shores.

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So I took the kids out for pizza the other night. Unfortunately, the restaurant didn’t serve alcohol. However, our waitress explained that we could walk upstairs to the tavern, get a drink and bring it back to the restaurant.

“We have an arrangement with them,” the waitress explained helpfully. “We don’t serve booze and they don’t serve pizza.”

A little inconvenient…but works for me. So I walked upstairs and ordered a beer for me and a glass of wine for Gia - who had stayed in the pizza shop with the kids. To which the bartender explained that he could only sell me the beer, not the wine.

Check out Dave Levine's comments (link below) on the "idiot Dems" ramming through a vote in favor of a bullet train that seems designed to wreck the state economy. Obviously this goes along with the notion that using cars increases the carbon level in the environment and that using an alternative to the car, even one propelled inefficiently by carbon-fired facilities, is somehow better. However, no one knows at this point whether people will be able to afford the bullet train or who will pay for the boondoggle. There are now 3 towns in CA that are either bankrupt (Vallejo and Stockton) or are about to be bankrupted (Mammoth Lakes), and the state has long bidden farewell not only to its collective sanity but also to manufacturing industries repulsed by high taxes and childish regs. Dems are little children who think they can pull money out of the air and are surprised no end when that theory fails the reality test--no matter how many times they are smacked in the faces with reality.

Here comes another big rusty nail in CA's coffin.

Of course, Dems always have the hope that the feds will bail them out.

Greece also dreamed that dream, believing the Eurozone would come to their rescue with the European Stability Mechanism.

We have learned that the House has scheduled an emergency vote to repeal ObamaCare for NEXT WEDNESDAY, July 11. This leaves us just a few days for citizens to make the strongest case possible that we want Congress to repeal this outrageous and unconstitutional TAX on the American people!

I am urging every Liberty Counsel Action team member to take a moment right now to schedule your personal faxes to your Representative and other key members of Congress demanding they support next Wednesday’s vote to repeal ObamaCare.

The EU and many "national" governments (de facto EU puppets) in Europe have succeeded in packing millions upon millions of Muslims into European towns, where they refuse to assimilate, routinely cause trouble, and have established vast "no-go" zones in various areas where police, fire personnel and ambulances dare not go for fear of being stoned or having their vehicles burned or destroyed. Just a decade ago, Sweden had almost no rape cases to report.

Then the Muslims came and now violent crimes like this have risen exponentially.

Yet the immigrants are encouraged to build mosques where they teach children to hate Christians and to carry out terror acts, while Christians who speak too frankly with these guests are in violation of laws against "proselytizing."

Legalization of something does not necessarily make it a good idea. It was once legal to own a slave. Democrats who voted against abolishing slavery in 1864, have been doing their part ever since to enslave Americans to one social program or another. Obamacare is just the latest example.

For years, Americans have been abundantly blessed with a mostly free-market healthcare system in which competent physicians at state-of-the-art healthcare facilities deliver the latest medical care. Yes, that care comes at a cost, but the alternative, which Obamacare will certainly create, is rationing.

Now that the Supreme Court deemed Obamacare's individual mandate for what it is -- a tax, Democrats are attempting to redefine it as a penalty. It's just their nature. Why call it a baby when you can reduce it to a fetus? Why bother worrying about illegal aliens when the term "undocumented workers" sounds so much more nebulous? I'll go halfway; let's call it a "penalty tax."

On July 5th, 2012, we learned that the majority on the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF), in a 3-2 split, upheld the unpremeditated murder conviction of our son 1LT Michael Behenna. Needless to say, we are very disappointed in the decision of the CAAF.

The CAAF had accepted two issues in Michael’s case (1) the improper self-defense instruction, and (2) Governments failure to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense, ie. MacDonell’s expert opinion. We know from reading the 2 dissenting judges opinion that the arguments by Michael’s lawyers were very compelling. In fact, the entire court agreed that the self-defense instruction was erroneous. However, the majority court ruled Michael used deadly force by threatening the terrorist with a gun and had no right to self-defense in his given situation – a fact strongly disputed by the dissenting judges – so the majority ruled the self-defense instruction written by trial judge Steven Dixon, even though incorrect, did not prejudice Michael’s defense. The entire court agreed the expert opinion of Dr. MacDonell should have been turned over to the defense, but the majority dismissed the potential Brady violation as irrelevant to Michael’s defense, as MacDonell’s opinion only strengthened Michael’s version that he was attacked, but Michael had no right to defend himself.